Australia's iPhone 4 pricing compared

It's that time of year again folks, so crack out your calculators as we wade through the confusing quagmire that is Aussie telco iPhone pricing.

All in all, the iPhone pricing in 2010 shows how far Australia has come in regards to cost versus value. Even if you compare last year's plans you'd find that the starting price for both the 16GB and 32GB models were higher and the data inclusions much lower. We've done our best to match up pricing tiers between the different carriers, but remember that these pricing charts don't take coverage or service into account; a factor which in itself has immense value.

The bits that don't fit well in tables

The Optus AU$59 and AU$79 plans include unlimited national SMS messaging, so the Calls and Messaging value on these plans will only be used by voice calls.

All Optus plans include unmetered access to Facebook, Twitter and a range of other social-networking sites.

Vodafone and 3 data values include the bonus 1GB of data available on selected smartphone contracts, including the iPhone 4.

The total minimum cost listed excludes the additional handset repayment cost, which is an extra 24 times the listed handset repayment cost for either a 16GB or 32GB.

Handset repayment costs are per month for the life of the contract with all telcos except Telstra, which charges an upfront repayment fee.

Virgin Mobile will offer the iPhone on both its Easy Caps and Smart Caps plans. These plans feature similar price points but offer different calling value vs. included data.

Mid-range plans — 24 months

Telco

Monthly spend

Handset — 16GB

Handset — 32GB

Calls & messages

Data

Min. cost

Vodafone

AU$49

AU$5

AU$10

AU$450

1.5GB

AU$1181

Three

AU$49

AU$5

AU$10

AU$450

1.5GB

AU$1181

Optus

AU$49

AU$8

AU$15

AU$450

1GB

AU$1184

Virgin

AU$49

AU$5

AU$20

AU$450

500MB

AU$1181

Virgin

AU$49

AU$5

AU$20

AU$300

2GB

AU$1181

Telstra

AU$49

AU$149

AU$299

AU$400

500MB

AU$1325

Optus

AU$59

AU$0

AU$10

AU$550

2GB

AU$1416

Virgin

AU$59

AU$0

AU$18

AU$450

2.5GB

AU$1416

Vodafone

AU$69

AU$0

AU$5

AU$650

1.75GB

AU$1656

Three

AU$69

AU$0

AU$5

AU$650

1.75GB

AU$1656

High-use plans — 24 months

Telco

Monthly spend

Handset — 16GB

Handset — 32GB

Calls & messages

Data

Min. cost

Optus

AU$79

AU$0

AU$0

AU$800

2GB

AU$1896

Telstra

AU$79

AU$0

AU$199

AU$750

1GB

AU$1896

Vodafone

AU$79

AU$0

AU$0

AU$800

2GB

AU$1896

Three

AU$79

AU$0

AU$0

AU$800

2GB

AU$1896

Optus

AU$89

AU$0

AU$0

Unlimited

3GB

AU$2136

Optus

AU$99

AU$0

AU$0

Unlimited

5GB

AU$2376

Telstra

AU$99

AU$0

AU$0

AU$1000

1GB

AU$2376

Vodafone

AU$99

AU$0

AU$0

Unlimited

3GB

AU$2376

Three

AU$99

AU$0

AU$0

Unlimited

3GB

AU$2376

Important things to remember

Telstra's upfront handset repayment may have the appearance of being more expensive, but you'd be surprised. If you compare AU$49 per month plans, Telstra's AU$299 upfront payment for a 32GB iPhone works out cheaper than the AU$360 you'll pay Optus, Vodafone or 3 over 24 months.

Don't be lured by enormous data allowances. Unless you're going to regularly tether your iPhone to a laptop and share the data, then 1GB or less is sufficient for most people's mobile browsing needs.

Updated at 4:06pm, 29 July 2010: to include Virgin Mobile iPhone pricing.